The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2015, and October 31, 2016 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2016 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on November 3, 2016, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

The Divine triplets, Lily, Daisy,
and Violet, are alike in some ways and different in others, but they agree
about their troublesome new puppy.

This chapter book introduces the three girls: Lily, who loves to read and dares to write and
recite a poem; Daisy, who loves baseball and plays even better after she gets
glasses; and drama queen Violet, who makes up for her science failures with a
project about the ways the three of them take after different members of their
family. And then there's Grandpa Dash and Grandma Rose. The girls’ habit of
jumping to conclusions leads them to assume that their dad's father and
mother’s mother are getting married, but the big announcement turns out to be
the gift of a new dog. The third-person narrative is dialogue-heavy, with
amusing, age-appropriate wordplay: Violet calls a science fair project about
electricity a “shocker” and uses words like “ridonculous” and “matchy-matchy.” There's
no sense of place and no clear indication of the girls' age; this is an
episodic story of people and relationships. In the end, these characters don’t
come alive, and readers may find it difficult to distinguish them—just as sometimes
happens to triplets in real life. Grayscale illustrations help (final art not
seen).

An appealing idea for a chapter book
but undistinguished in execution. (Fiction. 7-9)

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